Boy’s Father Speaks Out — Family Is ‘Destroyed’ By Rat Bite Tragedy

After a boy, Aidan Pankey, died suffering from Rat Bite Fever, his family was torn to shreds. Now, Aidan’s father Andrew Pankey is speaking out about how the family is coping with his loss.

Andrew Pankey‘s life has been ruined since his 10-year-old son Aidan died from an infection caused by a bite from his pet rat. The scorned father is speaking out about the sad turn of events and how his life has changed since losing his son.

Aidan Pankey’s Father Speaks — Rat Bite ‘Destroyed’ Family

All little Aidan Pankey wanted was a companion for his first pet rat, Oreo. When his grandmother Sharon Pankey took him to their local Petco store to see what they had, the pair took home a cute black male rat. Just two weeks later, Aidan was dead and doctors were blaming it on the flu. Now that it’s been revealed he died from an infection called Rat Bite Fever, Aidan’s family is speaking out about the tragedy that changed their lives forever.

“He was my family,” Andrew told WPTV about his son in an exclusive interview. The father also admitted that he was forced to take a leave of absence from work because of this tragedy, “I’m probably down 30 to 35 pounds since then. I don’t even get hungry. I just go until I pass out.”

Petco Responds To Pankey Family Lawsuit

Now that the family knows how Aidan died, they have opened up a lawsuit against Petco. The mass franchise has responded to claims they do not properly test animals before selling them to the public by releasing the following statement:

“At Petco, we follow what we believe are the industry’s strongest standards for companion animal health and welfare, and we require our vendors to meet the same standards for animal care and well-being. We require our live animal suppliers to meet or exceed USDA requirements for the care and treatment of animals, as well as follow strict requirements for housing, feeding, breeding, shipping and caring for sick or injured animals. We leave specific testing protocols to be determined by our vendors unless we identify a reason for concern.”

Tell us what you think, HollyMoms — Is Petco to blame for Aidan’s tragic death?

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That is not Petco’s fault that people are not using common sense when buying dangerous animals for pets.Children should not have rats as pets anyone knows they carry tons of diseases.Parents get kids alot of animals that carry serious bacteria and don’t care till the kid dies or gets strangled by the pet snake.Sorry for their loss but they must take responsibily for their actions.

I agree. I’m very sorry for the loss of this dear little boy, but after all, he already HAD a female rat, once it started breeding, they would be overwhelmed with offspring, then what? I’ve even read that this rat they purchased may have picked up something from their home. I wouldn’t be surprised. This sounds like a very irresponsible family, to me. I read one comment of someone who purchased a pet rat, when they tried to pick it up, it bit their hand and wouldn’t let go!! That does NOT sound like a good “pet” for anyone of any age.

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Sorry to hear about his death but rats as a pet should be a no no . Rats back in the day were the cause of many diseases . They took a chance having a rat as a pet they have to live with it . Pet smart should never sell rats as pets as people should not have them as pets.